Musical instrument.



A. T. NEWMAN.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1918.

1,297,585. Patented Mar. 18,1919.

ALBERT T. NEWMAN, 0F EMPORIA, KANSAS.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 18, 1919.

I Application filed May 28, 1918. Serial No. 237,062.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT T. NEWMAN, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Emporia, in the county of Lyon and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to musical instruments and particularly to a combined bt1l10 and violin.

An object of this invention is to produce an instrument which can be played by a bow such as is used for violins, wherein the strings are sup-ported on a bridge, the vibrations of which are communicated to a membranous head, a condition resulting in an attractive musical tone unlike the tone of other musical instruments.

A further object of this invention is to provide a body portion having a casing or receptacle for strings, resin, etc.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in whi=ch- Figure 1 illustrates a plan view of a musical instrument embodying the invention; and

Fig. 2 illustrates a side elevation, broken away, to show a part in section.

In these drawings 5 denotes a banjo frame or ring, 6 the head thereof which is of any usual construction. There is a receptacle 7 adjoining the frame having a closure 8 held in place by fastenings 9 so that access to the interior may be had for placing or removing articles. The receptacle 7 constitutes a support or anchorage for a neck 10 and scroll 11 which is the conventional shape of like parts of a violin.

The inner end of the neck is cut away or recessed as at 13 to form a shoulder 14: on which a bridge base 15 rests, the said base constituting a support for a bridge 16 which supports the strings between the tail piece 17 and the keys. The base 15 has its inner end resting on a strip 18 which is preferably of wood and this strip 18 has its ends anchored or supported on blocks 19 and 20 which rest on the head of the instrument, so that through the agency of the bridge base and the supports for the base, vibrations of the strings are transmitted to the head when employed for the purposes of the invention.

It has been found that the employment of a membranous head in connection with the bridge support results in the bridge support operating as a sounding board and also the said bridge support has the function of removing strain on the membranous head since one end of the said support engages the neck and the other portion of the said bridge support engages the head.

There is a resultant advantage in the use of these instrumentalities in that the tone is smooth and rattling is obviated. They also prevent depressions in the head which are often formed by the bases of the bridges resting on banjo heads. By the use of the invention, the instrument can be tuned to an ordinary pitch or higher which is necessary in practical use of the instrument as a violin and the bridge support removes the pressure from the head.

I claim 1. A musical instrument comprising a frame and a membranous head, a neck of the general contour of a violin, said neck having a shoulder at its inner end constituting a seat, a bridge support restin on the seat, means supported by the head for holding the bridge support free of the head, strings fOr the instrument, and a bridge interposed between the strings and the bridge support.

2. In a musical instrument, a body comprising a frame and a membranous head, a neck, said neck having a receptacle in its under surface, the said neck having a shoulder at its inner end constituting a seat, a bridge support resting on the seat, means supported by the head for holding the bridge support free of the head, strings for the instrument, and a bridge interposed between the strings and the bridge support.

3. In a musical instrument, a body comprising a frame and a membranous head, a neck connected to the frame, said neck having a shoulder at its inner end constituting a seat, a bridge support resting o-n'the seat, blocks on the head, a strip held by the said blocks and forming With the shoulder of the finger board a holder for the bridge ALBERT T. NEWMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

